


Passing Notes (and Blinks Too)

by AutumnVine



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Byleth is a massive tease, Edeleth, Edelgard is a gay disaster, F/F, Flayn is just trying her best, Flirting, I'm warning you, Knight-Captain Byleth, Passing notes during your diplomatic meeting, Silver Snow based Golden Route, really bad flirting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:20:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27142357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AutumnVine/pseuds/AutumnVine
Summary: Edelgard insists on attending every negotiation with the Church following the war's end.Unfortunately for her, so does Byleth.---Or, It's difficult to pay attention in a boring meeting when Byleth insists on being a massive tease.
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 11
Kudos: 146





	Passing Notes (and Blinks Too)

Emperor Edelgard von Hresvelg never intended on falling in love. 

Her life had been forfeit from the moment she emerged from the darkness beneath the palace without her siblings. She had always counted on the comforting fact that she would either succeed in changing Fódlan for the better, or die defending her ideals. She certainly hadn’t planned for anything beyond that - not friends (which she still ended up making) nor love (which she was never really in control of). And yet both happened anyway. 

Like a lot of the things in the increasingly complicated downward spiral she called her life, it had happened suddenly and without warning. And just like most of the aggravating, infuriating and absolutely wonderful things to go horribly wrong (and right) in the last few years, it was all Byleth Eisner’s fault.

=^=

This time, it started at their monthly roundtable session - a chance for both factions to air out any grievances in a neutral manner, with the intent of resolving the issue without further judgement or hostilities.

Flayn was representing the Church of Seiros, which signaled to Edelgard that there wasn’t anything actually serious to discuss, otherwise they would have sent Seteth. Technically Rhea was also invited to attend, but she had made the continuously clever decision not to be in the same room as the Adrestian Emperor since the signing of the peace treaty.

On Edelgard’s right, as always, sat Hubert, glaring suspiciously at the opposing representatives. He trusted members of the Church about as far as he could throw them, even if that meant pretending to be weaker than he actually was.

Sitting across from him, on Flayn’s left, was her retainer for the day - the current captain of the Knights of Seiros. Wearing a horrendously gaudy jacket over her white and green armor, Byleth looked about as bored as the rest of them. She would tap her fingers together in a fast rhythm that only made sense to her, occasionally giving vague input on the matter at hand. And whenever her eyes would meet Edelgard’s, she’d flash her a smile so bright it almost seemed unreal. 

Each and every time, it would send her heart aflutter. 

The problem began when Flayn pulls out _yet another_ report regarding the influence of Adrestian religious policy on obscure fishing hamlets, and as Edelgard tries her absolute hardest not to roll her eyes, there’s a tap on her foot from under the table. 

Startled, she discreetly glances around. Hubert was stiff as a board, his attention focused solely on the Nabatean in front of him. She rules him out, and then takes a moment before ruling out Flayn as well, considering her legs were barely any longer than hers, and Edelgard knows she can’t reach that far. 

Which only left… 

Byleth has the audacity to wink as their eyes meet, before she taps her foot again, this time with more force. Her cool demeanor gives nothing away. 

Footsies. Byleth was playing _footsies_ with her. 

Edelgard growls under her breath. Every meeting between the two of them would go like this, with Byleth trying to distract her in some way - not as a form of psychological warfare, as she had first suspected, but as a means of flirtation. From passing suggestive notes to wearing revealing clothing, the former professor derived an almost perverse amount of pleasure from acting this way towards her. 

It was like clockwork. Frustrating, beautiful clockwork. 

And Edelgard would let her. Not, she tells herself, because she had fallen in love with this ridiculous woman, but because she didn’t want to disgrace the Church’s representatives by drawing attention to the matter. 

Yes, that was it. 

At some point Flayn mentions a report, and Byleth slides a copy over to the Adrestian side of the table, which Edelgard takes. She tries to look it over, but notices something that grinds the entire mental processing of her brain to a halt. 

_Hi El!_ is scrawled on the bottom of the page, next to what looks like a small doodle of the Sword of the Creator and Aymr, joined together by a heart. 

It’s disgustingly adorable. 

She glares up at Byleth, who pretends to innocently look elsewhere. Edelgard quickly writes a message of her own, _Pay Attention!_ next to the original, then slides it across the table. Flayn is too wrapped up in her summation of the finer points of local church administration to notice. 

The response is immediate: _I am!_

_To the meeting, not me!_ Edelgard can’t believe she is having this discussion. 

_Oh._

That seems to take the wind out of Byleth’s sails, and she pouts slightly, which Edelgard does her best to ignore. She needs to be the cool, collected, downright _cold_ Adrestian Emperor everyone expects her to be. Not engaging in whatever the hell this was with someone on the other side of the table. 

Hubert interrupts the moment by asking Flayn a question, which she eagerly sets to task answering. Edelgard finds her enthusiasm admirable; though they weren’t what she would consider close, working together over the last few months had helped to ease the tension between them. 

Unfortunately, she then makes the one mistake she should have known better than to make - glancing back over at Byleth, who appears to be… blinking at her? 

No, not blinking, Edelgard realizes. A type of code, one that Hubert had taught her once for practicality’s sake. Used to send hidden messages when verbal speech wasn’t an option. 

She focuses on the letters, ignoring the smirk on the ex-mercenary’s face. 

Y… O… U

A… R… E

C… U… T… E

Sothis damn-it, even now she couldn’t help herself! Furious (and not just because she was blushing), Edelgard tries to blink a message back. 

S… T… O… P

There, that should get the point across, and maybe both of them can at least try to pay attention to Flayn’s presentation. 

N… O

No? Did Byleth just tell her no? 

I… M…. E…. A…. N…. I…. T 

If that wasn’t enou-

C… U… T… E 

Edelgard’s face feels like it’s burning at this point, and she decides not to indulge the other woman further, shutting her eyes to appear deep in concentration. She was going to sit there, listen to Flayn as best she could, and ignore the fact that Byleth had called her ‘cute’.

=^=

Finally after what felt like hours (in actually only thirty-odd minutes), Flayn finishes her report and the subsequent proposal she has for the Empire, and a break is called so that they can draft a counter-argument - thought Edelgard does think the concerns raised were rather valid.

Edelgard glances down at her notes to prepare, but to her abject horror the paper she was supposed to be using is completely blank. She peeks over at Hubert, who is busy reading over his rather cluttered notebook, and she shudders at the thought of admitting that she was too distracted to properly take notes like she was supposed to. 

Then Byleth pushes a piece of paper over to her, and she sees it is a surprisingly detailed account of the meeting so far, including minutes for each point addressed. When did she have time to write all this? 

_You owe me,_ it says at the top, alongside what appears to be a sketch of a fish with Flayn’s hair. 

Damn it. 

It wasn’t fair! It just wasn’t fair that of all the people in this goddess-forsaken continent, she had to fall in love with the one that could so easily push her buttons without even trying. No matter how cool, collected or cold she tried to be, Byleth Eisner always managed to reduce her to a pathetic pile of nerves that acted in a shamefully irrational manner. 

She loves Byleth for her kindness, her understanding, her gentle wisdom. How she makes her laugh, cry, and even so incredibly frustrated. And yes, she loved how much of a massive tease the former professor could be. 

But Hubert demands her attention, and she takes the notes to confer with him over the Church’s requests. He doesn’t want any of them, Flayn wants all of them, and so they compromise on half. Sometimes Edelgard doesn’t quite remember when she became the agreeable one. 

When the agreement is signed, Flayn thanks them both, then leaves first, no doubt in an attempt to slip past Seteth’s protective net before he can come collect her. Hubert lingers for a moment, chatting briefly with the Professor before departing to store the documentation. 

And that just leaves the two of them. 

Edelgard _glares_ at Byleth, who smiles sheepishly as she approaches her side of the table. Her hand holds a lone piece of paper, which she places in front of her. Taking it, Edelgard reads a single question. 

_Forgive me? Yes/No_

She looks back up, and to her credit, Byleth does seem to be at least trying to appear apologetic over her behavior. And for as much as she internally complained, Edelgard could never truly be mad at someone so genuine in their intention. 

So she decides to play dirty. 

Reaching out, Edelgard places a finger under the other woman’s chin, then gently presses her lips to Byleth’s, kissing her softly. They’ve shared kisses before, from calm like rippling water to raging like a storm at sea, and each time, it feels like her heart stands still. 

What they are to each other, she doesn’t quite know. Friends, yes. Old enemies, sure. Maybe lovers, but there was yet a label placed on this aspect of their relationship. All she does know is that she loves Byleth Eisner, and if that means putting up with the incessant flirting and teasing that came with it, she would do it a thousand times over. 

Only when they separate does Edelgard circle _yes_.

**Author's Note:**

> Hubert knows exactly what is going on, he just doesn't have the energy to do anything about it. 
> 
> Anyway, this is some random story I wrote in an attempt to write an Edeleth one-shot without any spoken words. If you've read my long-fic, then you know I much prefer dialogue to anything else, so this was a fun challenge! 
> 
> Thank you for reading, even if this is just some goofy nonsense.


End file.
